One head rolled as a result of Sunday's 38-13 loss to Tennessee, as Raiders kick returner Yamon Figurs was surprisingly cut Wednesday.

Figurs fumbled the opening kickoff, but it was recovered by a teammate. Was the miscue the reason he was cut?

"No, we just needed to take care of our team right now," coach Tom Cable said. Oakland re-signed backup tackle Erik Pears.

Figurs returned five kickoffs for 105 yards (21-yard average) and one punt for 10 yards against the Titans before leaving the game with a stinger. The fourth-year veteran also had two catches for 17 yards - including the first grab by a wide receiver this season - on Sunday.

It was less than a week ago that Cable and special teams coach John Fassel were talking excitedly about Figurs' speed and big-play explosiveness. And how they weren't concerned that the former Raven had fumbled twice in the preseason.

From explosive to expendable in six days?

"We just need to make a move for the team," Cable reiterated.

Johnnie Lee Higgins, who ran back the last two punts Sunday for 12 yards, and rookie Jacoby Ford will return kicks, but Cable didn't want to specify who would do kickoffs and who'd be on punts.

The Raiders could use an extra lineman as left guard Robert Gallery did not practice because of a hamstring strain. His status for Sunday's game against the Rams is questionable, and Cable surprisingly went into some detail.

"He's got a pretty good strain," Cable said. "This is one of those things, we'll see in about 48-72 hours and see where he's at. Fortunately, those guys on the line of scrimmage, if they worked on Friday, they could play Sunday."

Daniel Loper, who started five games with Detroit last season, would get the call if Gallery couldn't go.

Meanwhile, running back Michael Bush, who sat out the season opener after breaking his left thumb, returned to practicing at full capacity.

Briefly: Quarterback Jason Campbell wouldn't go into what the team found as far as him or the offensive line tipping plays. "It's between us as a team," he said. ... Campbell gave rookie center Jared Veldheer a thumbs-up despite a couple of bad snaps. "He was very feisty, and that was something I liked, because the guy, he's a young guy, but he just showed he wasn't afraid of anyone on the field," Campbell said. "